Chapter 319: The Suspicious Altar

What awaited us at the bottom of the stairs was a place that looked like a suspicious altar. There were also drawings resembling the Nazca Lines, and nothing about it felt anything but ominous.

“It’s an altar! …Huh? Something stinks! Is there some kind of offering rotting away?”

“For a second I thought they might be sacrificing people, but it doesn’t seem to be that kind of thing.”

Just as Ren-san said, there were no bloodstains, and no bones in sight. There were what appeared to be food offerings that had rotted beyond recognition, but it was a relief to see that they hadn’t been sacrificing living creatures.

“Perhaps they offered prayers aboveground and food down here? I was hoping for some kind of treasure, but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything special.”

“Right? How boring! It’d be way more interesting if they summoned something or other!”

“It certainly is a magic circle where it wouldn’t be strange for something to be summoned. The drawings are pretty suspicious too.”

Indeed, it didn’t look like just any ordinary altar—it seemed like a place for summoning. The room we had arrived in was built similarly too, so perhaps it was something like the room that had been used for our otherworldly transfer.

“Doesn’t the way this magic circle is drawn look similar to the one on the floor of the room we arrived in?”

“Huh? I don’t remember that at all! Or rather, was there even a magic circle drawn there?”

“I don’t remember either. The whole phenomenon was so nonsensical—one moment we were somewhere familiar, the next we were in a room we didn’t recognize—that I didn’t pay attention to our surroundings.”

It seemed Shoji and Yui-san didn’t remember either, and they nodded as if agreeing with Ren-san’s words. I don’t have a crystal-clear memory of it either, but I feel like there might have been something drawn there.

If that’s the case, this magic circle might also be capable of transferring something. According to what Sheila-san had told us, transferring requires magic power, so if we channel magic power into this magic circle, it might activate.

“If this is indeed a magic circle, it might activate if we channel magic power into it.”

“It’s a little scary, but I kind of want to try it! Yui and Ren, help me out too!”

“If it does activate, I wonder what will appear? Let’s at least prepare to fight it.”

“Shoji, keep your shield ready. Sato-san, I’d like you to go up to the top of the stairs.”

To be ready to flee at any moment, I positioned myself at the top of the stairs, looking down at the magic circle. The three of them began channeling magic power into the magic circle, and in response to that magic power, the drawings began to glow brilliantly.

“It’s absorbing quite a lot of magical power. Are you okay, Mika and Ren?”

“I’m fine! I may be bad at manipulating magical power, but I have plenty of it!”

“I’m still okay too. I’ll run if it gets dangerous.”

While having that conversation, the three of them offered up their magical power. At last, the magic circle began to react.

Since I had heard that otherworldly transfer requires storing up magical power over decades, I had thought that perhaps nothing would happen from just this one attempt. However, pillars of light began rising from the drawings on the ground. If I had to compare it to something, it might be similar to the warp gate that Milagros-san had brought.

While observing and wondering what would appear, after an intense flash of light, I could see someone sitting in the center of the magic circle. He had a human-like form, but it was immediately obvious that he was not human.

“Something appeared! Friend or foe?”

“I don’t know, but… it feels pretty dangerous.”

If Ren-san said it felt dangerous, then there was no doubt it possessed considerable power. Once the light settled, the kneeling figure slowly rose to its feet.

He had horns similar to Milagros-san and the others, along with a scorpion-like tail and what looked like large bat wings growing from his back. His irises were completely black, with crimson pupils.

Each body part was close to human, but the additions made it clear he was not human. Just what had we summoned? The urge to flee was strong, but I held back and waited for Ren-san’s instructions.

“Who are you?”

“…To summon me and then ask ‘who are you’ is quite something. That’s a line I would like to say. Well, you truly do seem perplexed, so allow me to introduce myself. My name is Veles.”

“I’m grateful for the introduction, but I’d like to know what you are as well. You’re not human, are you?”

“No, I am not human. Humans would call me a demon, but I am an angel. I was exiled for committing a taboo, however.”

Relief at being able to communicate properly was short-lived, as he began saying something incredible. An exiled angel… in other words, a fallen angel?

“Um, does that mean you’re a fallen angel?”

“You are quite knowledgeable. Yes, I am a fallen angel.”

When I called out from the top of the stairs, Veles-san replied with a smile. Though there was fear, his refined features and somehow elegant demeanor gave off a strongly captivating charm.